Variables of Love Tour Stop!

Meena Kapoor knows what life has in store for her. She’s in her senior year at Stanford where she’ll graduate summa cum laude, and then she'll begin her interviews…her marriage interviews. Meena is Indian, and she’s never questioned that she’ll have an arranged marriage like all the generations before her. Not until she meets gorgeous math major Ethan Callahan. Ethan’s sense of humor and free spirit stir feelings in Meena she didn’t know were possible outside of Bollywood movies. It doesn’t hurt that he’s charming and has the uncanny ability to make math sound like poetry, but Meena knows their equation makes no sense in the real world.

Ethan finds himself intrigued by the mysterious, beautiful girl, whose big, brown eyes reflect great pain. His goals are small at first—to make her smile and then to laugh. But he soon wants more, and though Meena is adamant they have no future, he convinces her to share the present. Ethan believes every problem has a solution, but with cultural expectations and family duty among the variables, they will struggle to solve the ultimate equation to find happiness.

I love geeky romances!  And this book is a charming, geeky odyssey that I found not only enlightening, but funny and heart wrenching all at the same time.

Meena is in her senior year at Stanford.  Her future has been all planned out for her.  She’ll graduate, get a good job and her parents will arrange her marriage.  She doesn’t question it, she’s just accepts it as her fate and her duty to her Indian family.  Things get infinitely more complicated when she meets Ethan.  He’s smart, funny, good looking and incredibly intrigued by Meena.  She lets him know that there’s no way things can ever work out between them, but they decide to go ahead and spend what little time they have together.  But as the end of their time together draws near, things become a lot more complicated than either had expected.

This was just a really good, really deep and really sweet NA romance.  I simply loved it.  I’m not a fan of math, but I am a fan of Ethan Callahan.  I’m not sure how any girl could resist his charms!  Meena is no exception either.  And I loved Meena.  She has a quiet strength about her, something that has allowed her to deal with the things life has presented her, some incredibly sad. 

I also really liked the cultural aspects of this book.  I mean, I know in some cultures there are arranged marriages still, but it was an interesting dynamic to read about and explore.  Not to mention, it was a great catalyst for the drama that ensued in this book.  I can’t say that I’ve ever quite read a book like this before, and I found it was something I had a hard time putting down.  I really enjoyed being a part of Meena and Ethan’s world for a little while.  4.5 stars.

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“Why do you have a blanket in your car?”

“In case I need it.”

“Have you ever had sex on it?” I asked, staring at the soft plush material with narrowing eyes.

Ethan laughed. “Of course I have.”

“Oh,” I said, holding the material further away.

“It’s my sex blanket. Whenever I’m in the mood, I just lay it on the ground, take off my clothes, and the ladies line up.”

It took two seconds before his words sank in and I burst out laughing.

“I’ve had sex on it once, but don’t worry—I’ve washed it since then.” His honesty was jarring. Did he always tell the truth? He pulled it over us before crossing his arms behind his head and lying down. Our shoulders grazed each other’s. “Look up, sunshine.”

I gasped. The golden stars appeared to drop right out of the sky like they might fall on us. “It’s beautiful. They look so close.”

“I know. It makes you feel important and insignificant at the same time.”

“That’s a good way to describe it.”

We were silent for a moment, both staring at the magnificent view above us. “Do you bring a lot of girls here?”

Ethan chuckled, turning toward me and resting his head on his crooked elbow. “No, why? You think I should?”

I am a hopeless romantic in a hopelessly pragmatic world. I have a full time life and two busy teenagers, but in the dark of night, I sit by the warm glow of my computer monitor, and attempt to conjure up passionate heartwarming stories with plenty of humor.

I started imagining stories in my head at a very young age. In fact, I got so good at it that friends asked me to create plots featuring them as the heroine and the object of their affection as the hero. We'd spend hours on the phone while I came up with a series of unrealistic, yet tender events, which led to a satisfying conclusion. You've heard of fan fiction... this was friend fiction.

Even with that, it took many years to realize I could produce an actual full-length book that readers would enjoy. I try to make my stories humorous, realistic, with flawed but redeeming characters. I hope you enjoy my stories and always find The Happily Ever After in every endeavor.

 

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Black Rose Tour Stop!

Lillian Locke had the perfect life in Boulder, Colorado. She had the boyfriend of her dreams, a wonderful family, awesome friends, and a spot on the track team at a great college. There wasn’t anything life could throw at her that she couldn’t get through . . . until he found her.

Lillian never could have imagined being abducted and chained up in the dark. Worse yet, being just one of many girls kidnapped and held captive by a madman. All she can do now is hope that she survives the brutality of their captor long enough to find a way to free herself and her new captive friends.

When Richard Haines’ girlfriend goes missing, he makes it his personal mission to find the woman he loves and bring her home to the safety of their loved ones. Seeking the help of friends and family, Richard abandons everything except for his pursuit of Lillian. But when someone else close to Richard goes missing, and the bodies of the abducted girls start showing up in the hills outside Boulder, the only thing he can do is hope that he finds her before it is too late.

I am so impressed with this new author.  She came out of the gates with a powerful novel for the readers who enjoy a dark and twisted read.  She tackled the dual POV of storytelling and kept it consistent and smooth.  The characters in this story were very well developed and told powerful yet distressing details of how they felt going through the nightmare that greeted Lee and Richard. 

The synopsis gives you a glimpse at what you are about encounter with this plot.  Lee and Richard are in love yet they haven’t said those three little words yet.  Lee runs track, using the sport of running to keep her mind clear and stress level down as she goes to college.  One day she finds herself getting into the car only to wake up in a cell like room.  Chained to the wall she tries to figure out what happen and how can she get back to Richard. 

In this cell she meets the missing women of the college that the community has been searching for.  Eventually she comes face to face with the people involved who are holding them.  The author did a wonderful job with giving us the scenes of abuse and torture but not with the amount of details that you would normally expect in today’s writing.  She proved that an author can evoke an extreme amount of emotions from the readers with great scene development and not drown the story in the details of actions.  I could feel the anger and panic of Lee as I read and was grateful more times than I can count that I didn’t have to “see” what she went through. 

Another aspect to this book that is different from most is we weren’t left having the loose ends tied up in an epilogue.  She took us past the horrific event and let us see how the characters recovered and dealt with the “wheels of justice”.  The emotions from the traumatic situation carried over to the last 1/3^rd of the book where we reached our closure. 

I was so impressed by her talent, especially being new to the author career, but I can’t put into words the courage she had to tackle such a deep and dark story as her first novel.  This genre is my favorite to read and I have pretty high standards as to what I expect when I open a book of this kind.  She met all of my expectations that I would have for a new author of this type of story.  Of course no book is perfect and I feel I need to let the readers know that there is some predictability in this story but after I finished it and thought about it, I am not sure she could have done anything differently in the way she laid out her plot.  The other issue is the last half felt a bit rushed for me. I wanted to spend more time with the characters and get a stronger feel for how they were dealing with what happen. 

Even with those two minor issues, this book blew me away and I would strongly recommend it to any reader who needs more than a fluffy romance to entertain them.  I will certainly be watching to see what comes from this author in the future. 

Black Rose is a dark psychological thriller that details the story of a college student named Lillian Locke and her abduction by a psychotic sexual predator who has been kidnapping young women in and around Boulder, Colorado. Now she’s one of a few women chained up in a basement at the mercy of a man who sees her and the others as objects in his personal harem. Lillian isn’t one to sit back and let someone control her destiny. She gives hope to the other young women and fights back against her captor. Will her desire to take him down be the solace and key to their freedom?

Lillian’s strength of character really makes this story stand out. Her emotional investment in protecting the other women and her push to make sure their abductor and torturer gets exactly what he deserves created an emotional connection that had me completely invested in the outcome of the story. I cringed at the painful and dark moments but I also cheered every time Lillian pushed her captor’s buttons. While Lillian fights back her boyfriend Richard is on the outside doing everything in his power to find her. His determination and love for Lillian was heart warming as well as heart wrenching. I felt his helplessness and pain as he searched relentlessly for the love of his life.

Any good psychological thriller worth reading has a villain that keeps you on the edge of your seat and this storyline had just that. The villain in this storyline takes psychotic to another level. Every time he was in a scene I couldn’t help but shiver uncomfortably. I was biting my nails, holding my breath and clenching my jaw. This book was a page-turner with action and a fast paced storyline.

The content is intense and gripping and may not be for everyone. However, while some readers may find some of the scenes too intense the intensity paints a visual glance into the mindset of the characters and Thompson carefully maintains the integrity of the storyline without exploiting the graphic nature of the material. Every word felt necessary in order to build up the story to a satisfying and truthful ending.

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Kris Thompson is a veteran of the US Navy and single mother of three. When she’s not knitting scarves, chasing her children around or baking, you’ll find her enjoying a good book or writing down notes for her own upcoming stories. Writing has been a passion for Kris for many years, and seeing those stories printed on paper is a dream come true.

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Miss Congeniality Tour Stop!

 Miss Congeniality doesn’t curse. Miss Congeniality doesn’t have tattoos. Miss Congeniality doesn’t drink shots. Miss Congeniality doesn’t ride motorcycles….Or does she?

When America’s sweetheart…
Brea Richards is America’s sweetheart. Dubbed Miss Congeniality by the media, Brea has spent years honing her current reputation. And being one of the leading stars of a prime time television show…priceless. It’s a long way from her humble beginnings, but that’s her secret to keep. Or at least that’s what she believes until she gets the phone call.

Meets America’s bad boy…
Lance Holder is America’s bad boy, the guy they love to hate. He lives life the way he wants, and makes no apologies, regardless of what anyone thinks. All everyone sees is the tattooed, motorcycle riding, reckless movie star, preventing anyone from looking beneath the surface. And that’s just fine with Lance. Until his new gig puts him right in the path of Brea.

Will either one escape unscathed?
Lance is the newbie on Brea’s show, and everyone is watching to see if America’s bad boy will influence Miss Congeniality. They don’t know Brea’s worst influences happened long before Lance entered the picture. And Lance seems to be one of the only ones to see beyond her current façade. Maybe America’s bad boy is just what America’s sweetheart needs…

I love Hollywood romances.  I think it’s kind of fun to live the lives of these characters for just a bit, and I thought this book delivered for the most part on the fun, the romance, the drama and the sexiness that a Hollywood story should have.

Brea has worked really hard to be a successful actress in Hollywood.  She is the star of a prime time TV show, which is something considering she has a tragic past.  Raised by a drug addicted mother, she survived only because of her brother Alex.  She’s worked really hard to keep her past a secret, but one thing could bring it all crashing down…and that’s Lance.  Lance is Hollywood’s “bad boy”.  His image is the polar opposite of Brea’s, and when he’s cast in her show as her love interest, the sparks fly both on set and off and they quickly become an item.  The thing is, Lance is actually really sweet, but can they keep their relationship together when it becomes the focus of the Hollywood media and paparazzi?

I loved Lance!  He’s everything that you want in a Hollywood leading man in these stories.  Sweet but dominant and a little dirty in the bedroom…me likey.  Brea I liked too and she seemed a very real character whose past was tragic but with her own strength she managed to overcome it.  Totally admirable and it made her that much more interesting for me.

There was something about the writing style of this book that was kind of a turn off for me.  It’s not that it was poorly written, but the style didn’t really flow for me very well.  It felt stilted and in general the action of the book was spotty and not very interesting in parts.  But even with all of that, I still found myself reading on to see how it all ended for Lance and Brea.

Overall, I did enjoy this book even with my criticisms.  The characters are great and the general plot was interesting.  3.5 stars.

"That wasn’t so bad,” Lance said as they walked in the green room following the conference. The others had scattered soon after, but Brea had followed him to express her displeasure. She simply stared at him; he had clearly been hit in the head if he thought that press conference went well.

Brea tried for calm but failed miserably. Her temper didn’t flair up often, but when it did she tended to lay waste to everything in her path. “Easy for you to say grabby hands,” she hissed. “And what the hell were you doing insinuating that we had a relationship?!”

“First of all, I wouldn’t have had to say shit if you didn’t try to eye fuck me on the way in.”

Brea narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth so she didn’t rise to his bait. “I didn’t try to eye fuck you. And who says shit like that?”

He leaned in so close she could feel his breath, causing a tingle in the base of her spine. “The guy who you were about ten seconds away from pulling into a back room.” She pulled away, needing the distance, before glaring at him.

“And don’t touch me again without permission.”

He chewed on his bottom lip, looking her up and down like he knew exactly where he wanted to touch her. “What pisses you off more? The fact that I had to squeeze your leg to prevent you from spouting off at the mouth…or that you wanted me to squeeze much more than your leg?”

Her nostrils flared, from desire or anger she didn’t know. They say there’s a thin line between love and hate, and she never felt it more acutely than she did today, as though ever nerve ending was on fire. She didn’t know why this man did it for her, but he did.

“You are obnoxious as hell.” It was pretty weak as far as comebacks went, but she couldn’t think straight. All she wanted to do was feel, but she wasn’t about to give in to shit when it came to Lance.

“That all you got? You really are…nice.” When he said it like that it made it seem like she had the plague.

“One of us has to have manners,” she replied in a way that would have made Emily Post proud.

“Yeah, and one of us had to preserve your reputation in the media. Will they speculate about us? Yes. Did I play it off so they think there’s nothing serious about us? Yes. Just wait and see what they write about you, I guarantee you will be the victim of my evil clutches.” She shifted from side to side, knowing he was probably right. They would be much more forgiving of her, but if she said anything they would have circled like vultures around new prey. She should probably thank him for his foresight, but he had been such an ass about everything.

“And as far as the other stuff- the shit between you and me? You look at me like that again, and I guarantee we’ll be doing a lot more than playing grabby hands under the table.” And just like that, he walked away, slamming the door on the way out. She plopped down on the couch, trying to pretend like she didn’t want to call him back for more.

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Marie Garner hails from North Carolina, and has had her nose in a book for as long as she can remember. Story ideas have been floating around in her head for as long as she can remember when she finally decided to write them down. She is an avid football fan, often found rooting on her Washington Redskins or her alma mater NC State. She has taught for the past 7 years, with a short break to earn her Masters degree. She loves London, having lived there for a year, and loves taking all those crazy ideas to make stories you enjoy!

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Serial: Vol Two Tour Stop!

Follow along as Jude teaches Ronnie her new place in his life while battling the rising need to kill...while Ronnie adapts to Jude's mysterious ways and increasing demands...and as Donovan hunts Jude and fights his own dark urges.

*This is the second installment in the exciting erotic thriller, Serial...a serial about a serial killer and the one he loves and the one who wants to destroy him* 

Jaden Wilkes and Lily White are taking us on a dark and deadly path with this series.  The first book we were introduced to Jude and Ronnie and we saw what Jude will do in order to not kill his new pet Ronnie.  With a detective on the trail of the serial killer, we find that the detective isn’t too far off from being more like Jude than he thinks. In this book we get a lot more of the chase and an introduction to a new character Patty along with some background on Ronnie.

 I think Patty is going to become a huge player in the game after reading this, but these authors are so unpredictable, I can’t figure out how she is going to be involved.  I have a few ideas but I won’t list them here in case I might on a rare chance be correct and spoil the story.  Patty is a very young mother who is a prostitute to make money for her baby’s daddy so he can keep a supply of drugs.  She lives with her mom and mother’s boyfriend and she really wants a better life for her and Sarah her baby girl.  Life and addiction continues to get in Patty’s way for a fresh start but there is a mystery surrounding this woman that leaves us readers questioning about who she really is.

Detective Blake comes up with a plan to get CK to come out of the dark and trip himself up so they can get the serial killer off the streets.  While doing this the detective shows us a bit more of his personality behind closed doors and allows us to see he really isn’t too different from CK, he understands him and believes he knows just what buttons to push. 

Ronnie has a huge discovery in this book.  The moment us readers have been waiting for and once again the authors twist our minds and we could have never expected the outcome to this one.  I really liked Ronnie in the first book, now I am not so sure what I think about her.  We do learn more about her and we can see that Jude is starting to remember something but we won’t find out in this volume, we are going to have to wait.  With Jude starting to change things up in his routine and making plans for him and Ronnie, how much longer is he going to keep going before reality slaps him down and he is caught?

I would have given this book a four star for the simple fact it was another short gift that allowed us to see more behind the scenes, but it went to a five star when the author changed tactics and this become another piece of a puzzle that is forever expanding.  I need to know how Patty fits in, where is the people in Ronnie’s past and do the two women and Jude have a history that they haven’t discovered yet or is this just a random case of capture, love and kill? When I finished the last page and was frustrated that I wasn’t getting more right away, that proved to me they had once again sucked me in and warped my mind, leaving me craving answers and more information regarding this story.  

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“How was your day?” she asked, with the intimacy of a long married couple.

I crossed to the bed and sat beside her, inhaled her scent, the intoxicating mix of expensive bath products and her unique underlying flavor.

“It was good,” I replied and felt her lean towards me. She pressed her little body against mine with such a familiarity that for a moment I almost dropped my guard and flipped her over on the bed for a fuck.

Instead I lifted my arm and let her snuggle in, cozy herself against me and hoped she didn’t feel my heart throbbing against my ribcage in surging desire.

“I was kinda bored,” she said, “is there any way to get cable in here? Maybe internet access? I’ve watched all the DVDs you provided and I’ve read every book a couple of times over.”

That was impressive, I hadn’t thought her the type to read so quickly. She’d been with me almost two weeks now and didn’t seem like the brightest bulb in the box, as they said.

“No cable,” I told her, not wanting her to see the recent coverage on the disappearances from the Waffle House, hers included. “I’ll get you Netflix, how’s that? You can watch movies and TV and such.”

“Sounds good,” she replied, “any chance of wifi or a tablet or something?”

“Not yet,” I said, “Billy’s still out there, who knows where he’ll be watching and waiting to find you. He’s apparently pissed that you got away. I’ve heard through the grapevine that he’s willing to pay top dollar to have you killed.”

She flinched when I said it and dropped her gaze to the floor. “Did you talk to him? Did he…say anything?”

“I haven’t spoken to him directly, I’ve just heard things. You don’t still…care for him, do you?”

“Oh god, no. I don’t know why I wasted so much time with him in first place. I’m so embarrassed that I stuck with him, that you saw…”

Her voice trailed off and she felt stiff against me. She was highly self-conscious of her terrible choices, her shitty background and her impoverished upbringing.

Perfect.

I could deconstruct her and rebuild her into the kind of women she should be. The kind of woman who was worthy of being my Pet.

I had about a month to work on her before the wedding. I promised myself two weeks and I’d be taking her to meet the parents.

A month and she’d meet all my friends, be brought into my social circle and seal my status as normal and right on target.

I squeezed her and moved to get up. Her eyes snapped up to my face and she whispered, “Please don’t leave me, don’t go.”

“Don’t you have enough food? Are you running out of pain meds?”

“It’s not that,” she replied.

“What is it?”

She didn’t reply right away so I hooked my thumb under he chin and pulled her to face me. Her startlingly blue eyes were wet with unshed tears. “I don’t want to be alone,” she said, “Please stay with me. Hold me tonight.”

How could I tell her no? How could I deny her my touch?

I thought about the girl strapped to the table in the warehouse and calculated my odds. She should still be alive by the time I went to her again. For that night I decided to hold my Pet, I caressed her and let her presence wash over me, dispelling the red tide that was rising in me even as I sat back down beside her.

She leaned against me again, my beautiful girl, exquisite in her naked vulnerability.

So delicate and so fragile.

So easy to crush if I gave in, just said fuck it and let the red heat rise.

But I didn’t. I fought it and I fell.

Even farther in love.

JADEN WILKES

Jaden is the pen name of a girl living on the prettiest farm in BC. She shares her space with her husband, her children, and an Irish Wolfhound named Tiberius. She can now be found lurking in the dark corners of the internet looking for artful porn gifs, dirty poems and places to promo her work.

 

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LILY WHITE

Lily White is a dark writer who likes to dabble on the taboo side of eroticism. Most of the time she can be found wandering around aimlessly while her mind is stuck in some twisted power play between two characters in her head. You may recognize her in public by the confused expression, random mumbling, and occasional giggle while thinking up a scene. Lily's favorite things in life are reading, thinking about reading, buying books for reading...and writing. Her other secret pleasure is meeting her plot editor in public to discuss her books and watching the shocked expressions of the people around her that don't realize she's talking about a book. When Lily is not reading, writing, wandering or freaking out innocent bystanders, she's sleeping.

 

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Blue Dahlia Tour Stop!

New York socialite Dahlia Baron is falling for her Latin lover, Rodrigo Cruz, the scion of the Mama Linda Latin foods empire, and hopes to take the relationship to the next level. But there’s a dark secret that she must deal with first in order to truly give her heart to him. When Dahlia visits the man from her past, will the undercurrents of her emotions let her go to Rodrigo or will they pull her back to the one person who stands between them?

Blue Dahlia is the first book in the second trilogy of Vivian Winslow's Gilded Flower series, featuring Lily Baron's free-spirited twin sister, Dahlia.

This is the first book in the Dahlia Trilogy by the author of the Gilded Flower series, which I enjoyed very much.  It’s a short installment, at around 85 pages, but I found that all the things I liked about the Gilded Flower Series were brought through in this book as well.

Dahlia is the twin of Lily, and she’s got a secret.  A secret we, as the reader, are not privy to, but I can tell it’s something big and juicy.  This book picks up where Tiger Lily left off with Dahlia and Rodrigo.  The big question it seems for Dahlia is should she confront her (secret) past in order to be able to move on with Rodrigo or not?

A short book but it packs a powerful punch.  I have to say that Dahlia surprises me.  In book one of the Gilded Flower series, I really hated her.  By book three she was growing on me and now, I’m totally hooked on her story.  Let’s just say that I’m waiting with bated breath for the next book in this series to see exactly how things work out for Dahlia…though I know that will probably just be a tease as well!

My only complaint is that I wish this had been a full book instead of just a novella length book.  I’m selfish; I want to know it all at once.  I’m impatient too.  But as it stands, I thought this was a well written and captivating book.  4.5 stars.

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Vivian Winslow was born and raised in Southern California. Before becoming a writer, she made a career out of moving around the world every couple of years thanks to her husband’s job. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and two elementary school age children, and is grateful to finally have a place to call home for more than two years. New York is the perfect city to indulge her love of shopping, the arts and especially food.

If she’s not at home writing or running around the city with her kids, you’ll most likely find her indulging in pizza on the Lower East Side or having a cocktail at her favorite bar in Alphabet City. That said, she’s still a California girl at heart and would gladly trade in her heels for a pair of flip-flops to catch a sunset on the beach. .

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